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THEY may
be coming from opposite directions, but Coca-Cola and
Talk ’N Text have something in common when they take the
court tonight.
For
obvious reasons, the two teams have trained their sights
at “W” No. 6 that would allow them to stay abreast with
Red Bull on top of the leader board and bolster their
bid for outright semifinals berths in the
Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Cup.
Chot
Reyes, who took the rein from Derrick Pumaren at the end
of the Philippine Cup, said he and his players are still
in the process of getting-to-know each other, but the
team’s impressive start in the season-ending conference
seems to belie that notion.
The
Phone Pals have won four-of-six games, highlighted by a
three-game streak that earned them the distinction as
the league’s hottest team.
With a
pair of hardworking and unselfish imports and a
dependable cast, Coca-Cola managed to squeeze itself in
the company of the league’s early leaders. But the
Tigers looked sluggish after the All-Star break and
absorbed a 75-82 beating to Red Bull on Wednesday that
snapped a two-game run.
The
weeklong break, though, enabled the Tigers to recharge
and prepare for their 4:50 p.m. date with the Magnolia
Beverage Masters at the Araneta Coliseum as they attempt
to regain lost ground.
Gee
Gervin and Jason Dixon are complementing each other so
well and if Asi Taulava, Nic Belasco and Ronjay Buenafe
get their game going, the Tigers should be in good
stead.
Certainly, Magnolia is no pushover. With a cast that
includes Danny Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros, Danny Ildfonso,
Mike Cortez, Mark Pingris and Lordy Tugade, the team is
a certified title contender.
But the
presence of too many stars on the team seems to mess up
Magnolia’s chemistry with coach Siot Tanquingcen having
a hard time balancing his stars’ playing minutes.
The
Beverage Masters has a 4-3 (win-loss) record to share
the middle of the pack with Sta. Lucia and Air21.
While
the Coca-Cola-Magnolia duel promises to be a
hell-of-a-leather encounter, the Phone Pals are expected
to handily score their fourth consecutive victory
against the Welcoat Dragons in the 7:20 p.m. showdown.
But
Reyes cautioned that the Dragons are a dangerous team.
“Their
two victories are against elite teams and three of their
five losses could have been won games. So we can’t take
Welcoat for granted. We have to stay focus and do the
things that we have to do,” Reyes said.
Although
he is pleased with where they stand now, Reyes
emphasized that it’s the team’s growth and not the
position that matters to him at this point in time.
Against
the Dragons he said: “We’ll come to the game and see how
much we’ve grown over the season.”
Purefoods, meanwhile, replaced import Darious Rice with
seven-foot-one Reda Rhalimi. The Giants play the Alaska
Aces in
Bohol Saturday. |
